It is widely accepted that no single English word is a true rhyme for orange, though there are half rhymes such as hinge, lozenge, syringe, flange, Stonehenge, or porridge.[8] Although this property is not unique to the word—one study of 5,411 one-syllable English words found 80 words with no rhymes[9]—the lack of rhyme for orange has garnered significant attention, and inspired many humorous verses.
Although sporange, a variant of sporangium, is an eye rhyme for orange, it is not a true rhyme as its second syllable is pronounced with an unreduced vowel [-ændʒ], and often stressed.[10]
There are a number of proper nouns which rhyme or nearly rhyme with orange, including The Blorenge, a mountain in Wales, and Gorringe, a surname. US Naval Commander Henry Honychurch Gorringe, the captain of the USS Gettysburg who discovered Gorringe Ridge in 1875,[11] led Arthur Guiterman to quip in "Local Note":
In Sparkill buried lies that man of mark
Who brought the Obelisk to Central Park,
Redoubtable Commander H.H. Gorringe,
Whose name supplies the long-sought rhyme for "orange."[12]
Various linguistic or poetic devices provide for rhymes in some accents.
Compound words or phrases may give true or near rhymes. Examples include door-hinge, torn hinge, or inch, and a wrench. William Shepard Walsh attributes this verse featuring two multiple-word rhymes for orange to W.W. Skeat.
I gave my darling child a lemon,
That lately grew its fragrant stem on;
And next, to give her pleasure more range,
I offered her a juicy orange.
And nuts, she cracked them in the door-hinge.[13]
Enjambment can also provide for rhymes. One example is Willard Espy's poem, "The Unrhymable Word: Orange".
The four eng-
ineers
Wore orange
brassieres.[14]
Another example by Tom Lehrer relies on the way many Americans pronounce orange as /ˈɑrəndʒ/, as opposed to /ˈɔrəndʒ/:
Eating an orange
While making love
Makes for bizarre enj-
oyment thereof.[15]
Rapper Eminem is noted for his ability to bend words so that they rhyme.[16] In his song "Business" from the album The Eminem Show, he makes use of such word-bending to rhyme orange.
Set to blow college dorm rooms doors off the hinges,
Oranges, peach, pears, plums, syringes,
VROOM VROOM! Yeah, here I come, I'm inches,[17]
Nonce words are sometimes contrived to rhyme with orange. Composers Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel wrote the song "Oranges Poranges" to be sung by the Witchiepoo character on the television programme H.R. Pufnstuf.
Oranges poranges, who says,
oranges poranges, who says,
oranges poranges, who says?
there ain't no rhyme for oranges!